"Ah... huhhh..."

  The entire Bernabeu first erupted in gasps, followed by collective groans of disappoi.

  When Van Nistelrooy ected with a header that seemed destined for the back of the , Napoli's goalkeeper Handanovic threw himself through the air, using one hand to tip the ball just wide of the goal. Though the save resulted in a er for Real Madrid, Handanovic had preserved the sheet for Napoli, leaving Real Madrid fans sighing in frustration.

  On the sidelines, Gao Shen shook his head slightly, then took a few steps forward to shout instrus to his pyers.

  "Di Maria! Keep an eye on Ramos' positioning! Stay with him!"

  "And you, Biglia! What are you doing? Where's your position?"

  "Vargas, watch the spa the fnks! We worked on this in training!"

  Gao Shen's shouting aures made him appear visibly anxious, something the live broadcast cameras picked up on. They cut to a close-up of him, deliberately emphasizing his apparent nervousness.

  Meanwhile, the broadcast also showed Real Madrid's coach, Schuster, sitting ba his seat, exuding an air of calm fidence.

  "Real Madrid has made a fantastic start, creating frequent ces to get ahead."

  "It looks like a goal is just around the er."

  "Napoli seems nervous, which doesn't bode well for them."

  Schuster looked increasingly self-assured. The match was unfoldily as he had anticipated. Watg Gao Shen pag on the sidelines, nervously trying tanize his defense, Schuster's fidence grew even stronger.

  "Keep pressing! Push them bato their shell!" he thought smugly to himself.

  If Gao Shen's defense caved uhe pressure, Schuster could cim an undeniable tactical victory.

  ---

  "Napoli's inexperience is showing," Valdano remarked in the VIP box of the Bernabeu.

  From his seat alongside Florentino, he observed the game and shook his head in mild exasperation.

  "They ck Champions League experience. Pying as visitors at the Bernabeu, it's naturally difficult for them to adapt to this level of iy. A's not fet, Real Madrid's attack is incredibly strong."

  Real Madrid's lineup wasn't g in talent. These were all seasoned, high-profile pyers, and under sustained pressure, Napoli naturally looked disanized.

  "Do you think we'll win?" Florentino asked.

  Valdano paused for a moment before replying. "It's hard to say for sure, but Real Madrid does look very likely to score first."

  In fact, had it not been for Handanovic's heroic save, Van Nistelrooy's header earlier would have already put Real Madrid ahead. The Dut's reputation as the "King of the Six-Yard Box" was well-deserved.

  "That said," Valdano tinued, "Gao Shen is known for his meticulous preparation and adaptability. I'm certaiicipated this kind of sario and has a pn i'll be iing to see how he adjusts."

  As mere spectators, Valdano and Florentino could only specute about the coaches' strategies and iions. The fiactical details were something only the managers ooue truly uood.

  "But there's ohing that stands out," Valdano added.

  "What is it?" Florentino asked.

  "From the start, our midfield and foryers have been pressing aggressively. Van der Vaart, Van Nistelrooy, Robben, Raul, all of them are actively applying pressure high up the pitch. That's put Napoli under a lot of strain, f their pyers into hurried decisions. Even our full-backs, Marcelo and Ramos, have been pushing forward to support the attack. That's created a lot of offensive momentum."

  "But," Valdano paused, "how long this iy st? That's the real question."

  ---

  Under Real Madrid's relentless opening barrage, Gao Shen chose to weather the storm.

  Napoli shifted their focus to solidifying their defense, prioritizing stability and rhythm over terattag. Gao Shen's strategy was clear: avoid panid regain trol of the game's tempo.

  Real Madrid, however, tio fuheir attack through Robben's side.

  The Dutch winger caused repeated problems for Napoli early on. At one point, Robben collected the ball on the left wing, sprinted past Vargas with ease, and cut inside before threading a pass into the right side of the penalty area. Raul charged forward to meet the ball, but David Luiz intercepted at the st sed, booting it clear.

  Not long after, Robben attacked again, this time driving straight into the penalty area from the right fnk. He attempted a low cross into the box, but Bonucci stepped in and blocked the ball out for yet another er.

  It became evident that Real Madrid was fog their efforts on exploiting Robben's creativity on the right, creating frequent threats in the process.

  Naturally, Gao Shen wasn't going to let Robben wreak havochecked. He adjusted Napoli's tactics accly.

  Before long, Robben began to notice that every time he received the ball, toli pyers immediately closed in on him, boxing him out on the wing. Whether he tried to dribble past them, cut inside, or even pass the ball, he was blocked at every turn by Thiago Motta and David Luiz. His es with teammates were severed.

  This happened ohen twice. By the third time, Robben became so frustrated that he overhit the ball a it straight out of py.

  At this point, ten minutes had passed.

  Napoli's defearted to stabilize, while Real Madrid's right-back, Ramos, grew increasingly involved iack.

  Ramos' overpping runs on the right fnk were a double-edged sword. While his offensive tribution was signifit, it left Real Madrid vulnerable at the back. This had been a recurring criticism of Ramos throughout the season, his forward runs ofte gaps in defehat opposing teams could exploit.

  But with Robben struggling on the right, Schuster had little choice but to ence Ramos to keep pressing forward.

  Gao Shen, meanwhile, made further adjustments.

  Robben's movements were now tightly marked by Vargas and David Luiz. Vargas stayed close to Robben at all times, especially when the wiried to drift inside. Meanwhile, David Luiz tracked Robben's attempts to cut past Vargas.

  If David Luiz moved wide to cover Robben, Thiago Motta would drop into the bae to fill the gap, while Biglia and Rakitic remained positioo shield the defehis fluid arra gave Napoli's midfield greater flexibility and mobility.

  After ten minutes of this disciplined defensive effao Shen made another adjustment: he instructed i to drop deeper.

  The Uruguayan forward, known for his tireless work rate and physical strength, began to press Real Madrid's midfielders Diarra and Gago, disrupting their ability to push forward and support the attack.

  This created a dilemma for Real Madrid's ter-backs, Heinze and avaro. Should they step up to track i, or hold their defensive line?

  i's deeper positioning also opened up opportunities for Napoli's wingers, who now had more space to exploit.

  By the 15th mihese tactical ges started to pay off.

  Real Madrid's attag momentum began to wane, and Napoli's defense looked more posed. With Robberalized, it became easier to deal with Van der Vaart, who cked Robben's explosive ability.

  And Gao Shen began to atiently for his ce.

  ---

  On the surface, Real Madrid still seemed to have the upper hand. They dominated possession and created most of the ces, while Napoli appeared to be on the back foot, defending doggedly with only a few sporadic terattacks.

  To the casual observer, Napoli looked every bit the inexperienced Champions League debutant.

  Real Madrid, emboldened by this perception, started itting even more pyers forward. Marcelo and Ramos became increasingly aggressive in their overpping runs, adding width and iy to the attack.

  But Gao Shen was quietly ying a trap.

  After 15 minutes, Napoli's tactics shifted once more. Instead of immediately retreating after regaining possession, they began cirg the ball in their own half, luring Real Madrid into pressing high up the pitch.

  This subtle ge forced Real Madrid to it more pyers to their press, leaving spaces behind their midfield and defense.

  It didn't take long for Napoli to capitalize.

  In the 23rd minute, after a series of passes in their defehird, David Luiz pyed the ball to Rakitic, who was immediately closed down by Van der Vaart. Rakitic calmly passed back to Bonucci, who found himself unmarked at the back.

  Spotting an opening, Bonucched a perfectly weighted long pass over the top of Real Madrid's defense.

  The ball sailed over the midfield, bypassing Marcelo and avaro, and dropped just outside the left edge of Real Madrid's penalty area.

  Di Maria, like a streak of lightning, burst through Real Madrid's defensive line, leaving avaro trailing in his wake.

  Casils, realizing the danger, rushed out of his box to intercept, but the ball was outside the penalty area, and he couldn't use his hands. He leapt forward, trying to head it away, but Di Maria got there first.

  With a delicate header, Di Maria directed the ball toward the ter of the box. Casils, Heinze, and avaro all scrambled to recover, but it was too te.

  Sanchez, rag into the penalty area, arrived ahead of Heinze and volleyed the ball into the empty .

  "GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

  "In the 23rd minute, Napoli opens the sg!"

  "A brilliant goal from Sanchez!"

  "What a spectacur terattack, perfectly orchestrated!"

  "Real Madrid's defense was caught off guard. Bonucci's long pass was timed to perfe, Di Maria's off-the-ball movement was sensational, and his header to set up the py was sublime. Sanchez fi all off with posure!"

  "Napoli has scored the first goal of the game with a sharp and ical terattack!"

  As Sanchez celebrated wildly, his teammates rushed toward him, sharing in the euphoria of the moment.

  Napoli was now leading 1-0 at the Bernabeu.

  ***

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